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Microsoft® Wireless Optical Desktop Elite

Company:

Microsoft Corporation, www.microsoft.com

The Hardware

Model	Microsoft® Wireless Optical Desktop Elite
Key Features	Includes mouse Integrated palm rest Ergonomic design Wireless Hot keys Mac-compatible USB connector Multimedia PS/2 connector
Additional Features	Tilt Wheel Technology - The unrivaled wheel functionality and intuitive software enable accurate, accelerated scrolling through documents and Web pages. Includes Wireless Optical Mouse and Keyboard - Enjoy desktop harmony—this set includes a wireless optical mouse that accents the updated keyboard design. Smart Receiver - Go wireless with confidence—smart technology sends you a message when interference or low battery life is detected, reducing the likelihood of interruption. Longer battery life - Finally, a solution to the top wireless hassle—now you can work longer without interruption. Many users experience a half year of battery life! Wireless freedom - When you go wireless, you'll finally free your desktop from needless clutter and cables.
MSRP	$104.95
Rating

The Microsoft® Wireless Optical Desktop Elite desktop set comes with the wireless keyboard and wireless Optical Explorer mouse. A large selection of useful buttons are carefully placed on the top ridge of the keyboard, including Play, Pause, Forward, and Back media player buttons, volume controls, as well as programmable shortcut keys. A slick F Lock feature allows you to convert the standard F keys into even more shortcut keys. For instance, with F Lock off, F2 doubles as Undo while F3 doubles as Redo. I haven't found myself using all of these shortcuts, but it's nice to have them should the need arise.

To the left side of the keyboard is a scroll wheel featuring Microsoft's Tilt Wheel Technology which makes for easy vertical and horizontal scrolling with the left hand. There are also forward and back buttons. I have found these left handed tools very valuable when surfing the web or reading long documents. I don't have to take my hands off the keyboard to scroll quickly around.

The mouse, working at 400dpi and 6,000fps, offers acceptable performance for business activities. It is comfortable in the hand and with a good optical mouse pad, is very gentle on the wrist and hand to use. The scroll wheel, also equipped with Microsoft's Tilt Wheel Technology, allows easy horizontal scrolling, which makes it handy if you spend your workday perusing oversized spreadsheets and Word files. However, it's not a gamer's mouse. For gaming you will want something a little more responsive.

Pros:

• Very versatile keyboard with usable features.
• The new optical Explorer mouse is very comfortable.
• Scroll wheel featuring the new Tilt Wheel Technology on both keyboard and mouse!!

Cons:

• The keys are a clear plastic and don't look as nice as other keyboards.

Continue reading about the hardware in this series of articles:

Introduction
Microsoft® Digital Media Pro
Microsoft® MultiMedia Keyboard
Microsoft® IntelliMouse® Explorer
Microsoft® IntelliMouse® Optical 1.1
Adding It All Up

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